May 11, 2023

Trans Studies: Typical English Class

Gunshots ring through the classroom

Students hide under their desks

One collapses on the floor, their hair clips scattered in a sea of red

No longer a student

The assaulter drops their gun with a sigh of relief

Their fear is gone

They destroyed it, mutilated it

Difference meant threat

They were protecting themself against it

The monster, the atrocity 

It was extinguished 

‘It’ was a person

‘It’ wanted to be comfortable and safe

Wanted to be supported and loved

Wanted to be understood and accepted

But that was a threat

The need for acceptance made others fearful

‘It’ brought change and unfamiliarity

Potential learning was erased with a bullet

Because of makeup and hair clips

No affirmation for it

But ‘it’ was a person.